(Prison
Island (Changuu Prison Island) ½ Day Tour From
Stone Town - Zanzibar is an exciting Half Day Trip
to Changuu Island (also known as Kibandiko, Prison
or Quarantine Island) - a small island 3.5 miles (5.6
km) north-west of Stone Town, Unguja, Zanzibar. About
30 minutes by boat from Stone Town)

Prison
Island (Changuu Prison Island) ½ Day Tour From
Stone Town - Zanzibar is a day trip to a
small beautiful island just offshore from Stone Town
easily accessed by boat. Formerly owned by the Arabs
and British, it was once used as an old quarantine
centre for lepers and TB victims.

Now
it is more commonly known as the home of Zanzibar's
Giant Aldabran Tortoise colony, some of which are
over a hundred years old! This endangered species
came to Zanzibar as a gift from the government of
the Seychelles.

Approximately
one kilometer long and a ¼ kilometer wide the
island offers some of the most pristine swimming and
snorkeling conditions in crystal clear waters.

Prison
(Changuu) Island earned
its name as a former prison for slaves and a quarantine
station for Zanzibar and the mainland. Nowadays the
island gives you the chance to escape for some peace
and quiet. A hundred-year-old Giant Tortoises act
as unlikely vigilantes over the island, and you can't
help but wonder what tales they would tell, if only
they could talk!

Once
on the island, you have the opportunity to feed and
pet the tortoises and if you have time, you can do
a spot of snorkeling. (equipment hire not included).
A relaxing walk around the island, past peacocks and
mango groves, takes about half an hour.

Goats,
gazelles and birds inhabit the woods, but the most
famous residents are its giant land tortoise probably
brought from Aldabra in the Seychelles near the end
of the last century. There is a bar and restaurant
and the island is ideal for swimming and snorkeling.

You
may also like to take a stroll through the forested
interior where you will see a wide variety of birds,
colorful peacocks, bats, and beautiful butterflies.
Keep your eyes peeled too for the shy and elusive
Duikers - an unusual tiny antelope species.

This
tour is a great way to see some history and wildlife,
and also to see Stone Town from the water as many
old maritime legends would have done!

Prison
Island (Changuu) ½ Day Tours From Zanzibar
Prices

Dates
From

Dates
To

Price
Per Person

1st Jan
2014

31st
Dec 2014

100 US Dollars

Notes

*
Time: 3 hours (approximate), departure time is depending
on the tides

*
The tour start at 0900 Hours to 1200 Hours or in the
afternoon at 1500 Hours to 1800 Hours

Changuu
(Prison) Island ½ Day Detailed
Itinerary
Take a boat trip to this beautiful small island just
offshore from Stone Town. Formerly owned by the Arabs
and British, it was once used as an old quarantine
Centrex for lepers and TB victims.

Now
it is more commonly known as the home of Zanzibar's
Giant Alderman Tortoise colony, some of which are
over a hundred years old! This endangered species
came to Zanzibar as a gift from the government of
the Seychelles.

Once
on the island, you have the opportunity to feed and
pet the tortoises and if you have time, you can do
a spot of snorkeling. (Equipment hire not included).

You
may also like to take a stroll through the forested
interior where you will see a wide variety of birds,
colorful peacocks, bats, and beautiful butterflies.
Keep your eyes peeled too for the shy and elusive
Dickers - an unusual tiny antelope species.

This
tour is a great way to see some history and wildlife,
and also to see Stone Town from the water as many
old maritime legends would have done! The prison Island
or Chang Island is the middle Island of three visible
Islands from the Stone Town. The prison on its Island
was built in 1893.

Historically this small Island was used as point of
concealment of slaves later becomes a temporary hospital
and a quarantine Island especially during the outbreak
of contagious diseases in the last century.

The
Island endowed with nature features attractive, a
self-walking safari cover the island less than one
hour, while sand beach for swimming and relaxing,
colorful coral reef for snorkeling.

Sultan
Said in 1830’s, dicker different birds can easily
be seen in the Island, brought a number of giant tortoises,
some which are 100 years old, there from Seychelles.

Changu
Island (Prison Island) - Near Zanzibar
About 30 minutes by boat from Forodhani in Stone Town
area lay Changu, also known as Prison Island. A slight
misnomer, as the ruined buildings were never used
to house prisoners, as was the original intention
of the architects.

The island was once
used by an Arab slave trader to contain the feistier,
defiant and freedom seeking slaves brought from the
African mainland. To prevent their escape before shipping
them to the Arabian purchasers, or for auctioning
in Zanzibar's slave market, the slaves were dumped
on Changuu, from where they were unlikely to attempt
escape.

In 1893, Mr. Lloyd
Mathews, under the orders of the British administrators
built a prison. The idea was to send violent and recidivist
criminals from the Tanganyika mainland to be detained
there but the concept never became a reality.

In fact, it ended
up being used as a quarantine center for the yellow
fever epidemics that once raged through the region.
The old prison's crumbling cells can still be seen
today and provide occasional shelter for the giant
tortoises which are conserved on the island.

There are many trees
and plants on this small but beautiful island, and
it is a delight to walk safely and unhindered through
the dappled shadows. Birds abound, and bird-watchers
will find plenty of species to delight them.

Changuu Island also
offers the visitor a chance to sunbathe in peace,
or to swim or snorkel in the clear blue waters. Fishing
from the shore or boat is also a leisure option, and
the fish can be grilled on an open fire on the beach,
or taken back to your hotel.

Other islets include
the uninhabited Kokota Mapanya (Rat Island) and Hngume
Island (with its automated lighthouse), and the distant
Bawe Island (with its solitary guest house).

The Giant Tortoises
are Changuu Islands most famous inhabitants, and are
to be found nowhere else in East Africa. Not indigenous
to continental Africa, the original tortoises were
brought from Aldabra in the Seychelles in an effort
to extend the Tortoise conservation efforts.

Aldabra is famous
for harboring endemic and rare marine life species,
and along with the Galapagos Islands, it is the one
of the worlds few places where giant tortoises exist.

Some of the tortoises
at Prison Island were rescued from poachers who were
intercepted on their way from Aldabra to other parts
of the world where they would sell the animals to
unscrupulous private collectors or zoos. Giant tortoises
face dangers at every stage of their biological growth.

Apart from poachers
who want them alive, other hunters kill them to use
the shells and claws for medicine or saleable souvenirs.
Eggs and hatchlings face constant danger from crabs,
birds and other predators.

Tortoises have been
living in the Indian Ocean islands, and probably Aldabra,
for over 100 million years but their numbers have
fallen to such critically low levels that they are
now classified as endangered.

The adult tortoises
of Prison Island are already producing the next generations,
and the future is looking good for the continued survival
of the tortoises.

Tourists will find
an information center adjacent to the sanctuary. Here
one can purchase vegetables with which to feed the
tortoises, and the money raised is intended to further
support the project.

Care must be taken
when feeding them, as the beak of the tortoise is
designed for cropping tough vegetation, and their
jaw muscles are very strong.